Reason why Steve Smith made short trip to Jalandhar revealed

Team India celebrated in style as they leveled the series 1-1 after their 75 run win in the Bengaluru Test. The Australian camp was busy thinking what went wrong for them. The Australian skipper Steve Smith though, had a busy agenda ahead of him. Leaving the defeat behind, Smith was seen travelling to Jalandhar soon after the Bengaluru Test. The media were busy covering the DRS gate that he was involved in but the Australian skipper had very little concern about it.

All that he was bothered about was to get his customized cricket gear. Steve Smith made a visit to FC Sondhi Sports Company, a company that manufactures bats for him. He was accompanied by a representative from shoes and apparel company New Balance – the sticker that is often seen on Smith’s bat. The company officials later revealed that Smith took keen interest in knowing how the bats, gloves and pads were made.

He spent close to 5-6 hours at the factory and closely monitored his sporting gear get ready. Suresh Dutt, the GM of the FC Sondhi & Co. Pvt. Ltd. mentioned that Smith is very particular about the weight of his bat. He makes sure that the bat weighs 2lbs and 9 oz.

“We have been associated with Steve Smith and New Balance for three years. He is very particular about his bats. He gives strict weight specifications for his bat. He showed interest in coming to the factory and experience the whole process in person. He was surprised to see close to 220-270 material pieces were required to make a pair of gloves. He wanted to pick a few things for the remaining series,” Dutt quoted.

He further added that this was the first visit the Aussie captain had made to the factory. He called Smith to be a very calm guy who wishes to explore new things. During his Jalandhar trip, Steve apparently had his dosage of chicken pizza and chicken malai tikka.

“Smith came across as a very relaxed guy who wants to explore new things and wants to go to the depth of everything which matters to him. It was his first visit to the factory and it has now become easier for us to cater to his cricket goods needs. We wish he hammers a century in Ranchi as well as in Dharamsala and does well with the bats he has taken from us recently,” said Dutt.